Wednesday, 29 July 2015

The Wayland Smithers School of Journalism

The jeering was loud.Almost deafening in its unison - as hundreds of voices simultaneously
uttered a long, slow “Boooooo” at the defiant man who stood before them from
his position of power and privilege.The
crowd refused to be silenced, their eyes fixed on him in an angry glare that
reinforced the hatred coming from their mouths, the mocking tone of their cries
reaching a crescendo that seemed to confuse their target, before his trusted advisor
could intervene.

“They’re not saying ‘Boo’, they’re saying “Boo-urns”.

Just as Wayland Smithers protected Montgomery Burns in The Simpsons,
sections of our media, together with the hierarchy of the unnecessary at the
AFL, are now lying to protect Adam Goodes in much the same way.“They’re not booing you Adam, they’re just
displaying their deep seated racism the only way they can”, or in
Smithers-speak, “They’re not saying Boo, they’re saying “Boo-oong!”

Of course, we have the regular roster of apologists come
out, shaming the country and our society for cutting down a sports star who
happens to have Aboriginal blood as part of his racial make-up. The caring, informed and sensitive city
dwellers who, despite their alabaster skin tone and lack of racial diversity,
can not only see, smell and hear racism, but tragically, are so deeply affected
by it that they feel they must differentiate themselves from the white person
next to them by pointing at them and screaming racist long enough and loud
enough that somehow, somewhere in the midst of all their righteous shouting, their
own skin tone will be forgotten or ignored.

One thing I’ve come to understand about our society is that
often, those who see themselves as the most tolerant, educated and enlightened
are usually most racist, close-minded of all.These types were the first to pick up their keyboard or a microphone and
declare that speaking negatively about the so-called ‘war dance’ effort from
Adam Goodes over the weekend means that we are culturally ignorant, yet in making
such a claim, have themselves ignored an entire segment of the Aboriginal
community, who are appalled at the ‘performance’.In wanting us to be a homogenous community
capable of only thinking and feeling one way, therefore enabling them to have
the correct information and be ‘right’, they are guilty of the same crime they
are continually accusing an entire nation of – RACISM.

The fact is, some Aboriginal people, myself included, saw
that embarrassing display and did not feel pride.Instead, we felt shame, and a sense of
sadness and loss.Some of this stems
from seeing yet more of our traditions mocked and traded upon, invented and
earning overnight acclaim, for little more than cheap thrills while the long
standing traditions are ignored, left to die quietly and uncelebrated until
they are forgotten and lost forever.Some of this comes from the fact we're tired of the theatrics, and how his need for attention will play out for the rest of us, and creep a little into our own lives. For
an urban blackfella like me, I hate the fact that all of a sudden my opinion is
relevant.I haven’t written a blog post
in almost a year, or bothered to watch free to air television in even longer, yet
received two messages on my phone today – one from SBS and the other from 2GB,
wanting to know what I think about the whole Goodes drama and depending on what I think, whether they want to hear from me.They aren’t the only ones.Friends, acquaintances and even the random
guy standing next to me in line at the supermarket suddenly wants to hear what
I have to say, but only on this one topic, just for now. The easiest way to get rid of them is to gauge their personal feelings, then just agree with them. If someone is genuinely looking for a discussion, they are easy to tell, but most people just want me to be the token black who validates their own feelings on the matter.

Views like mine, that are contrary to the representations
being made by the rabid, name-calling media, are ignored or rejected by all
those who simply want to brand every incident or comment with an ‘ism’, because
the object of their outrage is never to stimulate an educated debate or a
discussion, but rather they wish to simply stand on their given podium and
recite their narcissistic lecture, a pointless exercise for them to reinforce
their followers that they alone are a bastion of cultural relevance,
understanding and compassion.Sadly, theses
‘enlightened’ folks also tend to take their cues on history from the most
removed people of a culture, merely because they tend to occupy the cubicle or
apartment next to them, or speak with the most authoritarian voice or sense of
victimhood – a sure sign that they must know what they are on about, according
to our current high standards of journalism in this country – instead of
seeking the truth and looking for those with knowledge that comes from a life of lived tradition, rather than being well removed from it.

I used to dance as a kid.Most of the kids who grew up in our house did it, but I have no intention
of my own children doing the same.My reluctance
has nothing to do with them being of mixed heritage though, and everything to do
with cultural appropriation.I said I
used to ‘dance’ as a kid, because that is really all it was.I was dressed in a lap-lap and painted up,
was taught the moves the rest of the kids were doing, but it was all just a
show.The dances were not ones passed on to us
from our Elders, performed for a specific reason or during a time of unique and special celebration that led me to understand my culture in a meaningful way, but rather a collection of dance moves put together by a choreographer who may or may not have had a
distant Aboriginal ancestor she found out about in her mid-thirties.A few documentaries and books from the
library later, she had all the cultural awareness she felt she needed, and as a
bunch of children not yet trusted with much knowledge, we didn’t know any
better.We danced for smiling crowds of
educated, enlightened people who clapped politely while murmuring “Oh, how cultural”, as they watched us
enraptured.I would smile back at them and
dance harder, oblivious to what I was doing and simply happy to receive
positive praise and attention from a crowd of people I didn’t even know.But I was no better than a performing monkey
to them, and for all their education and compassion, those crowds were the most
racist people of all.Their wisdom and
understanding of Aboriginal people and culture was a passing fetish, and in an
effort to appease them, I was walking all over my own culture for their
amusement, all of us completely ignorant to this heartbreaking fact.

After becoming a man, I learned better.I learned that our chants, and our dances are
sacred.They are powerful and special
secrets, not entertainment for the masses or political statements designed to
make sure you get yet another mention in the nightly news.I also took it to heart that the title of ‘Warrior’
is like respect.It is always earned,
not merely given because of the colour of your skin or your heritage.I am proud to say that some of my own
ancestors include great Warriors - men who fought and died to protect their
families and their way of life, and faced enormous battles that I could never
fully comprehend from where I sit today, in a relative position of privilege by
comparison, however you look at the statistics and facts. It would make a
mockery of the suffering and heroism of my ancestors to assign a title of great
reverence and historical significance, such as ‘Warrior’, to a person whose fame and heroism is derived
from little more than the ability to show up a few weekends a year and kick a
leather ball around an overly groomed piece of paddock.

As Adam walks out for his next game, before making his way
onto that perfectly manicured stadium lawn, I suggest he take a deep, slow
breath and reflect upon the reality of his life.Rather than having to emerge from the sheds
for the ‘coloured people’, kept separate from the white folks playing beside
him, he will run out after being supported by his entire team, not kept to the
back.When he is thirsty, he doesn’t have
to take a drink at the appropriately labelled drinking fountain, set aside for
only folks with his racial identity, but rather will be served like a prince,
with a special servant whose only job is to provide refreshments for the
thirsty players, regardless of their skin colour or heritage.As he drives his brand new sports car to
training, where he looks around at the other players arriving in their equally
expensive vehicles and stops to realise he is paid just as much as them, if not
more, he should perhaps pause a moment and wonder about whether he is fighting
a war that has already been won, and instead of complaining from his position
at the top, realise how those on the bottom rungs might be sick of hearing him
whinging and would much rather he just got on with life.

I thought this was fantastic to read. I hope I'm not here to just re-confirm my own binary points of view as influenced by media. I think I'm here to try and think in shades of grey and try and read more into this issue rather than listen to a carefully selected 2 second sound-bite. It's sad when I now doubt my own ability to think clearly, because of the sheer volume of poor journalism that floods my senses. I really appreciate this piece being written.

What a great post – I couldn’t agree more! I am a white fella, and I am ashamed of my people. No, not the ones who boo Adam Goodes, but the “educated” elites in the universities and the media who are so quick to point out the “racism” of their “ignorant” fellow Ozzies. Climbing up on the soapbox of their oh so superior morality gives them a sense of being “higher” beings, more moral, more special than their benighted “red-necked” fellows. Apparent self-hatred of the culture affords them a delicious degree of personal self-love. Even at the cost of social cohesion they will indulge their disgusting lust for self-loving superiority. And these are the people who see “racism” everywhere they look. For some of them, it’s almost as if they are safely projecting onto others something they dare not examine in themselves, I think. For others it is a stick with which to bash their culture for left-wing political purposes. All in all, these elites are the true agents of division in our culture, and I am ashamed of them. I love the aboriginal people and I want us all to live together as Australians, not as “us” and “them”, which is why I boo Adam Goodes and the other race-baiters.

Why boo anyone, even figuratively? Culturally it's a dubious practice, ie generally taught to be unacceptable in most Anglo cultures, even though masses seem to indulge in the practice. In cultural terms you are engaging in a practice that is embarrassing to Anglo maybe even Western sensibilities.

At this point I have to admit that I am a long time Carlton supporter, and as such, because the dance was aimed at other Carlton supporters, I believe it's my Aussie Rules cultural right to be the offended party in this exchange. However, personally I found AG's dance entertaining and in the spirit of modern sport, which includes war cries, chants, scoring celebrations and cheer leaders.

From a Western perspective, not one of an Aboriginal cultural devotee, and in the moment of the dance, so what if it wasn't authentic, can't people introduce their own creativity. Because he is Aboriginal, does everything he does have to be authentically Aboriginal? And how can people outside the culture possibly know that particular dance is or isn't authentic. And to be honest i couldnt care less, and why should I. I simply saw it as another way of him raising his fists in triumph at his sporting derisors. Nearly every sport has people that do that, particularly bowlers and century scorers in cricket, try scorers in Rugby League, goal scorers in Soccer and Aussie Rules. People may not like having their opponents rub their noses in their successes, but that's sport these days.

I expect people will always make race related faux pas, it's pretty impossible for people who haven't studied a culture in depth and lived with that culture to understand all the nuances of any culture. Personally I think that a culture and it's members can show its strength and maturity (I expect some people will see this as rasist) in dealing with inter - cultural relations by its ability and willingness to forgive those faux pas.

So glad to see you in print again. Your commonsense on sensitive issues is a welcome change from the nonsensical rhetoric of those who should know better.

What I have found unforgivable about this whole sorry business is the fake self righteousness of those who presume to speak for aboriginal people to increase the divide between aboriginal Australians and the rest of us who are unfortunate enough to have no aboriginal blood in us.

It is utterly pointless to try and use common sense in the context of lapdog media narratives like the entire Goode packaged presentation.

From the moment his race hucksterism was rewarded, this entire "Australians are racist" narrative was the inevitable end result.

The AFL itself has long since been captured by the cultural marxists.

Racial division, cultural division, the attack on the working class which no longer support socialism- that's what is really at the basis of this ridiculousness. Goode is just the latest in a long line of self serving narcissists who temporarily intersect with the long term plan to destroy any remaining cultural heterogeneity in our society.

Divisive celebrations of "diversity" may seem to promote one group over another, in the short term, but in the longer term, it can only lead to hate, suppression and eventually the destruction of ALL traditional human culture, black, white, trekkie or purple.

I would like to suggest something that few people are realising. For those that watched the initial spear throwing incident, and then the post match discussion by Gillon McLachlan the issues were already solved, concrete beyond question.

The other panellists were bemused, even a little taken back by the resolute and absolute stance of his opening claims - but quickly fell into line after some hesitance.

The point is - the entire issue, like the drugs saga, and so much more, is a manufactured issue from the AFL - a multi-billion dollar machine whose entire fortune resides in marketing and promotion - not the game itself. The number one purpose, the primary focus of the AFL is to keep football in the media spotlight no matter what.

PR companies, marketing agencies are all paid millions to manufacture ways to keep the football issue in the spotlight. Whether it is constant changing to umpiring, controversial decisions at the tribunal, off field player indiscretions, drug allegations, gambling or racism.

The AFL markets and promotes itself into every single facet of life, from being central to the ANZACS, Indigenous, Women,etc, etc - there is no aree it will not target to promote itself.

A truly staggering amount of money is spent coming up with ways to promote and spruik the AFL into the media - its called public relations and natural advertising.

And its a fact.

The ENTIRE Adam Goodes saga, and by default the issue of racism and Australian Aboriginal culture and heritage has been absolutely used and abused by the AFL in a shameless, unrelenting push for self promotion and grabbing the media spotlight - to hell with the consequences. The damage and resentment festering in people who just want to watch footy being labelled racists, the damage to Aboriginals, the damage to the game, to the players, to Goodes - it doesn't matter so long as the Leviathan that is the AFL gets to continue to bask in the glory of, and profit from, the media spotlight.

The AFL media arm has been pushing this issue hard, VERY HARD, generating huge amounts of content via social media, AFL News, television and radio. It is by far one of their best ever pieces of self promotion.

This is the saddest, most tragic part of it all.

The almost grotesque manner in which the AFL markets itself and how so few are even willing to discuss this issue because all media relies on the AFL. All of it.

The Age, Herald, Radio, Television, Fox generate vast sums from this industry - and would never ever speak to this perverse truth - that Aboriginals and racism are being shamelessly used to promote the AFL.

How EXACTLY has the AFL concocted this? You're saying Goodes is acting? You're saying people are paid to boo? This is a legitimate debate and you embarrass yourself by conflating it with some psy ops marketing conspiracy. Pathetic.Face the issue.

I think you have misunderstood. Unknown didn't say it was a staged event. He's saying that the AFL and other concerned parties have made the most of a bad situation and run with it. It has been blown out of all proportion, mainly by those who want to wear their anti-racist credentials on their sleeve. They are the people who have the most to gain from this sorry saga.

Wofduke and Wilson you are both forgetting that we the public are the product the media is trying to sell to the advertisers. the manufactured and hyped up conflicts crashes and insults reported on by media are just the bait to pique our interest and keep us in the way of the advertising. The AFL understand this. My frustration is that media report on conflicts but seldom give accurate facts on any sporting contest. try loking for a full scoreline on the cricket with enough timme to read it on TV. No longer do we get quarter by quarter results on AFL reports. Yet the media waste hours of our time with nonsensical "controversy".

Great article - great writing - write more please. I found your article on the Bolt blog which I usually use to get myself angry enough to write something sane.I enjoyed your perspective, and your expression.

I am a white guy, and when I had an Indian girlfriend I was surprised by the extent she had been affected by racism in her life. She was exceptionally sensitive to racist taunts (even the sort of flippant comment Australians make which is not intended to cause offence). She was a tough cookie in other ways, and had relatives who weren't sensitive to racism to the extent she was. It occurred to me that as a white man who had never faced discrimination on this scale, I cant really know what its like from her perspective.

I guess that's what makes this issue so hard. We can only compare our own experience to that of others and try to make a judgement - but we do so essentially on imperfect information. Sure, Adam Goodes is a well to do, successful, Australian of the Year, plays the game pretty hard, but who gets roundly booed every time he touches the ball, much more than any other player. Can any of us really judge how he should react, aboriginal or anglo saxon or whatever we are? Has he really brought this on himself - isn't he entitled to object to people calling him an ape? (its Waylon Smither I believe).

Goodes is entitled to object to people calling him an ape, but what he isn’t entitled to do, is decide for ALL Aboriginal people that the term is now racist and offensive. We each have our own voice, and I for one am going to keep my monkey-derived nicknames for myself and others, but each to their own.What I objected to about the original saga, was the identification and subsequent media hounding of a 13 year old. As a parent, I was horrified to think that any of my children could end up being in the same boat. The level of vitriol aimed at her was unbelievably intense when we have kids of all colours taking their own lives at epidemic levels due to bullying, shaming and all the other garbage they have to deal with that I never did as an occasionally ignorant and idiotic 13 year old who did things and yes, even said things, that I am ashamed of as a better educated adult sitting here now. I don’t get to decide how Adam should feel after being called an Ape, but neither does he get to decide for me that the term is now racist. We may share a racial heritage to some degree, but that does not make him any more able to speak for me, than I can for him. I never profess to be a spokesperson for Aboriginal people, just myself, and those who I am given express permission to speak for from time to time, and this is perhaps the most troublesome thing (to me at least) about our media. They treat Aboriginal people as one group, and tend to take a comment from one Aboriginal person as though it’s a given for all of us, when the reality is we are like every other culture – there is division, disagreement and we all bring our own perspectives to the table built from our experiences.We all carry our baggage in life, and some of us are more sensitive than others, and some just have tougher shells. Like your former girlfriend, I don’t find racism or discrimination at my expense to be funny, and often it can hurt my feelings quite deeply. As a race, we humans are kind of mean to each other for all different stupid reasons, and we’re all capable of being hurt by the words and actions of others, but there is a difference between being a victim, and perpetuating victimhood. Feeling sorry for yourself all day and hating the world isn’t fun, trust me I’ve been there and about as low as a person can get in their life, but from time to time, we all need a little perspective and a reality check.Goodes might be hurting, feeling depressed and questioning his future career prospects at a time when the chips are down for him, but, lets get a reality check going for a moment. While all the attention is focussed on this one man right now, while one AFL team are talking about pulling on a special Dreamtime jersey because a guy got booed and is feeling down because of it, why don’t we stop for a minute and think of something that has gotten almost no media attention that I have seen – the case of Jack Sultan-Page. ‘Jerseys for Jack’ has a real ring to it, if you ask me, because while Goodes is surrounded by supporters and has no end of people willing to fight in his corner and hate the world for him right now, there is a family who had to bury their child last year after his bike collided with a vehicle driven by an ice-addled coward. They have to wake up without their beautiful young son, and live with the knowledge that the courts decided recently that the most just and fitting punishment for the drug addict who ran away from their dying son and thought nothing of him laying on the road with massive internal injuries, was some home detention. I’m sure that is one family who would feel some comfort from the whole nation talking about them and their struggle for a moment, instead of a footballer.

As a father of three young girls, I also was outraged at the level of bullying that the media, the actual card carrying accredited media dished out to this girl. To this day, I'm still thankful she didn't take her life, but that pales into insignificance to a well schooled, educated, media savvy multi millionaire grown man's hurt feelings. Spare me.

I think the media role in haranguing this poor young girl is obscene, and the obsession with the issue of "Adam Goodes" is central to the problem. People wouldn't be booing at all if news cycles were capable of selecting news in a manner consistent with its actual level of importance, as opposed to how many ambulances show up. If it bleeds it leads apparently- and Racism is one of the hot topics.

That said, I'm not sure what you do about this. I'm not sure Adam Goodes is even intending to be a speaker on behalf of Aboriginals, even when he made that speech in receiving his Australian of the Year Award. Your point: Why should we be anymore concerned with Adam Goodes welfare than any number of other people is well made. But I don't think the focus on Adam Goodes is entirely generated by him.

I found it offensive that his spearthrowing gesture was criticised so heavily also - why can't this man express himself? We should be celebrating that surely. If anyone feels threatened they should remember it was an imaginary spear!

But that's all. The substantial issues to be addressed regarding aboriginal welfare and the welfare of all in this country will have to wait. We have to obsess about whether something IS or IS NOT racist, and alternately worship and demonize celebrity individuals. A replacement for religion perhaps - the soul in a soulless world. It's an abysmal but recurrent theme in our culture.

Hence why I don't watch mainstream TV anymore. They never talk about the important issues anymore, and concoct and manufacture outrage and division as a way to draw clicks and views to sell more ad space. We seem to be thankfully growing tired of it as a nation, and hopefully one of the good things to come from the current saga will be change in that respect. If we don't buy in and buy their garbage, they will soon learn that division and drama no longer sell.

I agree that Adam has been thrust into his position more than choosing to be where he is re:spokesperson, and this is the inherent media racism that exists in Australia - they bestow titles on people without thinking of the resultant pressure and negativity that will draw. Whether you are Adam Goodes or the 13 year old girl, labels aren't something that the media needs to participate in applying.

I am curious as to why you found criticism of his spearthrowing gesture to be offensive? Most gestures made to crowds (whether the middle finger or something else that could incite) are only made to draw a reaction are they not? And if you're looking for a reaction, you have to be aware that you won't ever have all the people supporting you all of the time. Some people saw it as pride in his culture, but as someone who was called a 'spearchucker' as a joke, I didn't see it helping the cause. When those same people went on to say that it was a traditional, cultural dance, I felt like I'd been punched in the guts. Just how educated are we on Aboriginal culture again?

It is great that he had made up a dance with some kids. Really great. It would have been a wonderful bonding experience and something they could share forever. What could have been a better way of honouring the memory of the time he spent with those kids was performing part of the actual dance after celebrating his goal (much in the style of Jetta) so that in the focus after the game, he could mention those kids and make their day. So many kids, of all colours, look up to this guy, and I want him to realise how many of them are counting on him and needing him to show the way. Bullying is a problem for our kids, and they need ways to deal with the knocks that come in life. They look to us adults to put aside our hurt and pain, put on that brave face and live up to all our claims that you can't let the bullies win or let them get you down.

Maybe this new religion could one day realise that highlighting the welfare of those who need our attention could easily be coupled with their lust for ambulance chasing - perhaps rather than mandated parliamentary quotas of Aboriginal people, we need mandated hours of reporting from various areas of the country - and although NITV has gone to many places mainstream media won't touch, even they baulk at reporting from some of the more violent or dysfunctional places on a regular basis.

Everybody faces ridicule and insults for some reason or other in the course of their lives. Are some types of insults worse than others? Who can tell.

When I was young and played football in the late 1960s and early 1970s I was frequently called an Orangutan and an Ape because of my longish curly red hair and red beard. This evolved in later years to the derogatory term Ranga for people with such colouring. Do we have any outrage over this? No, and rightly so because the way you deal with these things is a personal issue and not to be spread around as it the whole world you acknowledge or be accountable for your feelings. What offends somebody will be seen as a joke by another. As an addition to this my middle name is Cyril. You can imagine the stick I used to get over that.

My mother always told me. "Sticks and stones etc etc" and I believe that this is still the best advice on this issue. To respond to taunts and insults in an over reactive way is one sure way to bait the crowd and get more of the same. To conflate this into a major issue where you call the majority of the Australian population racists because they dislike the actions of a single man is not going to solve anything and will probably just increse feelings of ill will.

Everybody faces ridicule and insults for some reason or other in the course of their lives. Are some types of insults worse than others? Who can tell.

When I was young and played football in the late 1960s and early 1970s I was frequently called an Orangutan and an Ape because of my longish curly red hair and red beard. This evolved in later years to the derogatory term Ranga for people with such colouring. Do we have any outrage over this? No, and rightly so because the way you deal with these things is a personal issue and not to be spread around as it the whole world you acknowledge or be accountable for your feelings. What offends somebody will be seen as a joke by another. As an addition to this my middle name is Cyril. You can imagine the stick I used to get over that.

My mother always told me. "Sticks and stones etc etc" and I believe that this is still the best advice on this issue. To respond to taunts and insults in an over reactive way is one sure way to bait the crowd and get more of the same. To conflate this into a major issue where you call the majority of the Australian population racists because they dislike the actions of a single man is not going to solve anything and will probably just increse feelings of ill will.

I can understand you not wanting to make an opinion,why should anyone have to take sides , over a very small event .Adam Goodes was once a great footballer now he isn't,time has caught up with him,he should see this latest kerfuffle as a silver lining,he now has an excuse to retire from football before his club drops him for poor form.

Some people when given an apple that has a bruise will grumble and discard the apple others will cut out the bruise and enjoy esating the apple,others will see the bruised apples and make a nice apple sauce,that's life

OUCH, Dallas. That was a superbly pointy stick, and I feel like I've been prodded with it.I HOPE I'm not following you because you're the token blackfella I can point to and say, "See, my views are justified because Dallas said the same thing, and you can't say HE'S racist!"But who the hell knows anymore?Not me.And certainly not the finger-pointing, blood-baying journos who want to label me because I think Adam Goodes is a plonker.I'll be honest, it hadn't occurred to me that he was indigenous until Ape-Gate. I'm a Freo girl and most of my favourite players happen to be blackfellas; so what? it doesn't make me, or them, special.An integrated society doesn't come about because one group makes gracious allowances for another. It's only truly integrated when we stop noticing the differences, and see how much we have in common.

I gave myself a good prod too. We all need one from time to time, and I don’t think anyone here follows me as their token blackfella. Some great discussions of like minds have happened in the comments here over time and I have always felt nothing but respect for my opinions by the majority of people who wind up in here, yourself included.

Dallas, thanks for your contribution, your heartfelt words and your wit. It is refreshing to read.I will follow with much anticipation and I wish you and your family all health and happiness. Go the lions.

Good article but I am not so sure you capture the mood of people like me who, for a whole raft of reasons, feel ashamed of the negative sentiment that is expressed towards Adam Goodes. For the life of me, the booing is not delivered in any way for his outstanding sporting prowess on the other team, it is about who he is as a man and what sticks in a lot of people throat is evidently the fact he has taken on the role of vocal activist for Aboriginal rights and has not as you say, resigned to getting on with life or sucking it up as others would have him do.

As a kid, I grew up in the country near Shepparton during the fifties, it was here I saw the shacks along the river where Aboriginals lived, how they were excluded from mixing with us, how badly society treated them as fringe dwellers and it has burned a hole in my psyche to this day. Even now we focus on the social issues as a reason for exclusion rather than the many achievements as a means of inclusion.

Although we attempt to reconcile, we have failed dismally at addressing those many social issues Aboriginals face, more so where even today they are being driven off their lands to accommodate miners through a denial of public service. We have done a crap job at solving these problems that Adam and others like him forcefully express redress.

I don't see the solution as "just getting on with life". That is not working no matter how much cash they throw at it. The public focus and perception is on drunk Aboriginals in jail rather than Aboriginals Governor Generals and Doctors and Lawyers.

The dance and spear throwing was theatre as you say, as is much of the "cultural" tourist displays we see taking place across the country. At issue is, I think, we have largely ignored your culture as being part of being Australian. We celebrate as Australian our explorers, our war exploits, our major historical events such as the Gold Rush and sporting prowess but we have not incorporated any part of Aboriginal culture into our psyche and as Aboriginals are gradually assimilated into the common stream, that cultural knowledge gets lost even more and more and becomes even more remote so if you can't keep up with us, you remain on the bottom of our social strata.

The young girl's jibe was not about sport, it was blatant racism and he had every right to condemn her publicly. She was stupid and simply parroting the opinions of her family and those around her on the day but he was in no position to determine her circumstance, his task was simply to point her out. Later, once he understood, he apologized with little effect in the minds of anyone, the deed had been done and he was at fault.

So, in some respect I can agree with you, but I feel strongly that we as a society need to change our attitude and not brow beat the likes of Adam Goodes who will not lie down and roll over.

Steve, there is a legal term called Mens Rea (latin) that highlights children 14 years and under cannot imagine the consequences of their actions. The legal term was brought into being in the 1850s by British lawyers who could no longer stand to see children as young as nine being hanged by a justice system that showed no mercy to the young. In the calling out of that epithet to Goodes, the 'penance' inflicted on her was way over the top for the utterance of just one word and was more in keeping with the retribution one could receive from the hands of those who are perpetually offended and consider themselves as occupying the moral high ground.

And if what happened to that young girl was not bad enough, Goodes has been playing the race card ever since which I find is simply appalling.

@Nemesis, Goodes had no possible way of knowing her age nor was he in anyway responsible for the outcome of pointing her out as the one making a racist comment. I am fairly certain that was over zealous security guards and media and then the public looking for a story. He had a right to expect it would be dealt with in an appropriate manner which you and many others have denied him by implying it was all his fault for speaking up. He argues race because people imply it, just as you have done in denigrating him here.

Nemesis, you are incorrect. Children between the age of 10 and 14 can be held responsible for their actions by law, if it is found they knew what they were doing is wrong. By your account, the killers of Jamie Bulger could not have been convicted, by example.

If this girl had been six or seven, that would be different. But a 13 year old who doesn't realise it is both a racial insult, and wrong, to call a black man an ape makes me wonder where her parents, her education, or society failed.

Adam Goodes did not start all this. She did, by being racist and appallingly rude. If you don't believe Goodes should have ignored the slur - thereby giving tacit approval - then I'm not sure how he was supposed to know it was a teenager (not a "little girl", as she has been condescendingly referred to in some circles) calling it out.

What's divisive here isn't Adam Goodes. It's the likes of Bolt et al accusing him of trying to start a race war instead of saying "I don't agree with the bloke, but he has a right to have his say".

Sikamikanico, your anti Bolt bias is clearly shown by your inability to ubderstand his clear position on Goodes. He never questioned Goodes' right to free speech. Instead he did clearly state that he doesn't agree with Goodes. Thats called free speech.

Regarding the 13 year old girl what she said was wrong. But in the spur of the moment everyone has said something they later regret. She apologised. But as far as youre concerned she was a racist who deserved what she got. Your self righteousness in your post supports the pount the author was making. Maybe you should read it a few more times. and i hope tgat if you have a child who one day gets caught doing or saying something they shouldnt that you remember your callous condemnation of another persons child.

Sikamikanico, Adam Goodes is entitled to be upset at being called an ape. The girl is also entitled to the benefit of the doubt also. She honestly felt she wasn't making a racist remark, her words. Goodes had a good coverage of facial hair on the night. When I don't shave my kids call men an ape too, why, because I look hairy. If she called him a Ranga, would that be racist too? Could not a naive child say something an NOT think of race while saying it? Most likely.

What happened next was wrong. Goodes then stated "Racism had a face ... and it was a 13-year-old girl", on national television. Thats a step too far. It should've been handled behind closed doors once it was know she was a juvenile. The poor girl was dragged away from her grandmother and held in a room til the end of the game.

It was clear Goodes wanted to make as much out of it as he could, which has not been helpful to anyone, more so unto himself.

When he was named Australian of the year, he had a chance to be a conduit for reconciliation between white and black Australia. He could have had his Martin Luther King, "I have a dream", moment and advocate for better relations between us all. Instead he called white Australians rapists, thieves and child stealers. Hardly words you use to reconcile two peoples. Who do you ingratiate with that kind of language? Then he did the spear throwing which I instinctively felt was aggressive and provocative at that moment. Inciting the opposition crowd won't win you any friends. Hence the booing

I use to admire Adam Goodes, but he has become a decisive wedge in a country that is trying to heal. How can we heal if people keep opening old wounds and pointing out our differences instead of celebrating what is good between our cultures? We cannot be a united people if we squabble about our petty differences.

Sikamikanico; Nowhere in my comment have I suggested that children are not held accountable for their actions under the legal definition of Mens Rea, only that the term was introduced to keep those with criminal records from being hanged at such a tender age.

Your attempted rebuttal has exposed your own intolerance for those you deem as 'racist' while supporting what happened to that young girl Goodes later vilified on TV is an appropriate punishment for the wrongdoing of calling Goodes an epithet that has no racial connotation whatsoever except in the minds of those who are themselves always on the lookout for perceived racial slurs.

When I was employed as police officer I got called far worse names than 'ape' and by all ethnicities! One must develop a thick skin as a police officer and I would suggest that anyone employed in the public arena should do the same and what a better world it may then become!

I also grew up in a small wheatbelt town in WA, lived for several years in the Pilbara, and worked for the ADS in Perth on a voluntary basis. Everything Steve says is correct. Observing Australian indigenous people being treated as they were and continue to be treated today simply confirms that racism is deeply scoured in white people in Australia.

I also grew up in a small wheatbelt town in WA, lived for several years in the Pilbara, and worked for the ADS in Perth on a voluntary basis. Everything Steve says is correct. Observing Australian indigenous people being treated as they were and continue to be treated today simply confirms that racism is deeply scoured in white people in Australia.

I also grew up in a small wheatbelt town in WA, lived for several years in the Pilbara, and worked for the ADS in Perth on a voluntary basis. Everything Steve says is correct. Observing Australian indigenous people being treated as they were and continue to be treated today simply confirms that racism is deeply scoured in white people in Australia.

Interesting insights as always. The situation is sad. Goodes should have retired last year. His legacy now will be different from what it could have been. What's interesting as well is precisely as he was becoming less relevant on the sporting field, he amped up the racism rhetoric, the war dances and the Australia Day politics. I wonder if he has been pitching for a political career post the Swans and he is using sacred elements of Aboriginal culture as a podium to position him for his next chapter after AFL.

I have to say a voice of reason in this whole sorry affair. People overreacting on both sides its time it stopped and we got down to the real issues relating to discrimination from both sides of the fence. We are all equal (or should be at least) under the eyes of god.

A really good read, I could feel the positivity in your writing. With me, I did not see the so called "war dance" as nothing more than a celebration of a score, not an AFL fan any way, rugby league is my game, a player and referee for 60 years. I have been called an "ape" before (among many other things), I am "white", my wife a "monkey" she is not. I am not a booer, I do applaud good play though, while some of the booing may well have racist overtone, a great deal does not. Booing in itself can not be racist. In my younger days while going to melodramas we were asked to involved in the theatre production by booing the villain and cheering the hero, in sport the other team is often seen as the villains. I do not know Goodes, so I can not comment on his character, but I do know is that a player can be great guy off the field and turn into a real A-hole on it after crossing that white line. Interesting perspective Joe Goodacre, but would suggest that a thicker skin would be required though.

Rugby league is an interesting case study itself- perhaps it could emulate the AFL in having various sorts of diversity rounds, incorporating the voices of those that rugby league usually doesn't include, such as heterosexual men, people who don't compsulsively rape, non- steroid abusers, and so on.

Every sport has its "plonkers" but even NRL has gay players. Unfortunately the only one to really stand out is the extraordinary brave - Ian Roberts in the 1990s. But the NRL is trying for diversity and inclusion so you are a bit off the mark. I think they were the first code to have a reconciliation plan (circa 2008). The NRL has the All Stars concept, the Indigenous Players Camp, Close the Gap Round (I think they are up to 6 rounds now) and a whole range of other initiatives and programs are in place. There was a very public promotion of gay solidarity last year when Greg Inglis last year voiced his support for gay players to come out.

There was an old saying " Patriotism is the last refuge of the Scoundrel". Time has gone by and the saying should be changed to " Accusations of racism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". If the fans at the footy were to make a representation of a person holding a firearm and then point that representation at Goodes he'd be screaming "Racism" about that too, even though he's throwing spears at us !! I worked alongside Aboriginals in the early 1970's. We did the same jobs for the same pay and had a beer at the pub after work. My wife went to school with Aboriginal girls, they were just like the other girls. What's happened since then ? The guys I worked with all moved to the Aboriginal Industry because the pay was so good. The Aboriginal girls all went to the Education department and got jobs in Aboriginal Education. The children of the Aboriginal now have special rights, privileges and sporting teams, that's why there are so many faux Aboriginal coming out of the woodwork. The Aboriginals have their own flag that excludes all other races, so their flag is racist. This was all instigated by well-meaning people, well-meaning people can be very dangerous people, they have made sure that the divide between Aboriginals and none Aboriginals is wider now than it was 40 years ago. I truly believe that the gradual acceptance of each other, which was occurring, has been dashed by those well-meaning people.

Powerful piece (as usual) Dallas. It's great to see you writing again.

It's a shame that you think your opinion is only sought when a controversy or scandal or injustice occurs that revolves around "the industry". It is true, though, that at times like this everyone will be looking for an opinion from a person who is clearly Aboriginal who does not support the narrative and is prepared to write or speak.

Forgive my ignorance if there are others, but that leaves you, Bess Price and Anthony Dillon.

I'm straying from my point. My point is: write about other stuff too. We like reading what you have to say about "the industry" and it's negative impacts on the people it purports to help. What you write is common sense. Write about other stuff and we'll read it, comment on it, share it. Not because you're Aboriginal, but because it's common sense.

Dallas, your opinion on "Aboriginal affairs" (do we really need this) is sought because you can state your true opinion and cannot be accused of racism. You and Bess and Anthony oppose the narrative but cannot be attacked by the laziest method. I hate to define the burden, but it's there. We need you to keep speaking because no matter how much someone like Andrew Bolt does or says to eliminate the differences between Aboriginal Australia and the rest of us, the "racist" card is always played and always wins.

On the other side, your public commentary is only about "the industry". Give us something else to discuss - sport, politics, art, society generally. Post it and we'll comment.

My point is: A) Your opinion is sought on Aboriginal affairs because you are one of the few Aboriginal commentators who are prepared to speak up against the mainstream narrative, and B) your opinion is ONLY sought on Aboriginal affairs because you don't really comment about anything else.

It really is a shame that your words aren't published more widely. Your blogs relating to your childhood, in particular, would make good reading in any national newspaper. Choose your adjective - raw, real, unexpected, refreshing, enlightening, TRUE, confronting. Compelling.

If Goodes is booed as an Aboriginal it could be that he has labelled it as such. The simple reason that he is booed is a mixture of envy and resentment. When someone receives so many accolades but rather than show humility they act with superiority and entitlement it generates feelings of resentment. I think Adam has become a victim of his own success. he hasnt responded to his celebrity position with enough tact. and rather than perceiving the booing as a reflection of his actions he takes the narcissistic route of thinking that he is perfect and the booing is due to prejudice. However more than a few high profile celebrities have to deal with negative sentiment at times. If you can't handle it then step out of the spotlight.

Excellent blog, as I was having a real problem understanding how calling someone an ape can be perceived as a racial slur; as being indicative that all Australians are racist; or a case of vilification based on race.

Also, what I haven't heard being talked about is the following inconsistency:> If AFL fans are racist, then it wouldn't just be fans of the opposing teams booing Adam Goodes, it would also be fans of his own team, and> As the fans of his own team see him as a hero and DON'T boo him (actually cheering his every action) why doesn't this support outweigh the boos from a small group of people on the ground?

I shouldn't need to also mention the already much quoted fact that there are 71 indigenous players in the AFL and he is the only one that gets booed, but it can't be overstated.

Also human beings can be horrid and even very young children have learnt how to pick on someone and usually they pick the most OBVIOUS thing about a person. Just ask any WHITE child who has any of the following OBVIOUS features if they were subjected to insults and bullying: obesity, freckles, wears glasses, buck teeth, crooked teeth, pimples, scars, bulgy eyes, sticking out ears, a stammer, a lisp, red hair, gangly, unco-ordinated at sport, a computer or chess geek, bad breath, shyness, unusual features, early breasts, no breasts, hairy arms, body odour, bit slow, too smart, baldness, sweaty, second-hand clothes, curly hair - and less obvious, but known, social status situations of being orphans, single parent families, no money for luxuries, parents are drug addicts/alcoholics, shabby living conditions, old car, etc etc etc.

There is no difference between a female who thinks she looks ugly and is very hurt by someone calling her ugly, and Adam Goodes thinking he looks like an ape and is very hurt by someone calling him an ape.

BUT it is not uglism and it is NOT racism.

Following the above logic, if an indigenous person has no obvious flaws, then the most obvious thing about them to pick on would be skin colour. This still isn't racism as there is no genuine hatred, but rather a stupid person looking for something SUPERFICIAL but OBVIOUS to needle the person about. Most importantly, if an adult (let alone a child) acknowledges the bleeding obvious and the unchangeable things about themself, then no amount of needling can have any affect.

This is Human Nature 101. It is not racism.

However, this still isn't the situation for Adam Goodes. He is being booed for calling people racist when they were not, and for the statements about race he made while accepting the Australia of the Year award. Well that, and milking free kicks ...

And while I am on a roll, I have been reading and hearing a lot of talk related to this about 'white privilege' and subsequent endemic racism. But a basic concept has been overlooked.

Not every person with aboriginal heritage feels affected by supposed 'white privilege' AND most people (black, white, or brindle) have their own OBVIOUS cross to bear causing years or even a life time of torment and angst for something as simple as having red hair and freckles.

If the theme of 'white privilege' is going to be continued as a reason for not understanding claims of racism, then the dialogue need to include themes of 'gorgeous privilege'; 'perfect teeth privilege'; 'sleek hair privilege'; 'neat ear privilege'; and 'money privilege' etc etc

If Adam Goodes takes being called an ape personally, then it obviously isn't about his race and suggest he is sensitive about his specific facial features - and that does not make the insult racist. That just means he himself thinks he looks like an ape and the 13 year old unknowingly found this particular insecurity of his.

I've made this point many times over the years. If someone wants to have a go at you, they'll pick your most obvious trait, or one which they think you might be insecure about. This could even be something that is generally regarded as advantageous - like calling a tall person "Lurch". We need to separate general rudeness, which tends to come from a certain class of people, and hatred. Goodes certainly looks apeish with the beard. Most non-human great apes have certain features that certain people or certain races tend to have in common (dark skin, pronounced brow ridges). I've seen these traits in lots of people of different races though, which isn't surprising because they are pretty close to us on the evolutionary ladder. If you believe the first modern humans evolved out of a more ape like ancestor in Africa, you'd have to believe them to bear a stronger resemblance to that ancestor. Aborigines though have relatively little in common with Africans. It's more likely that they were from an earlier European group who made their way onto the Australian continent and regressed/adapted back to the climate. All humans are at different stages of evolution. There was no ape man that gave birth to a human - it's all one continuum. If I went back 200,000 years I might be able to able to find a considerably more robust and ape like man, who would nevertheless probably test for human DNA and be able to mate with modern humans - but this would not mean he was at the same evolutionary development. It's impossible to believe in basic genetics and egalitarianism at the same time. All races have in their DNA essentially equal potential - if it were not so, those traits could not be selected for in the first place to become more common in subsequent generations. But the distribution of traits (adaptations, physical and cognitive) in each population is certainly different. Egalitarianism is not compatible with anthropology. At this point in history depending on the society you live in, some groups are always going to do better and some are always going to do worse and the reasons are at least partially genetic. There are huge variances in groups (races) though so none of this is an excuse for any particular behaviour or lack of effort. There are plenty of successful people with IQs below 100 and plenty of basketcases with IQs above 120. It's still up to the individual to work with what they've got and make the best of it.

A red haired person gets called a Ranga short for Orangutan i guess that must be racist if the person doing the calling is a different race then them, i have noticed since i was a child that people separate themselves from each other whether being a different race a different class a different religion a different team or from a different part of town it must be territorial behavior of some kind .Be great if we could all just help each other but i guess that's in a perfect world.

Does anyone remember there is an actual human being buried underneath all this soap boxing and opiniating? If he asked for it, he got it. If he did it all for attention, well I reckon he's learned his lesson. But it must be pretty crap being Adam Goodes right now, and thats not right.

Bd, I feel sorry for Adam, now. He is now caught up in a hurricane that he didn't create and has only minimally perpetuated. He was just the catalyst.

Right-thinking Australians (alternatively the Cultural Elite or our Self-Appointed Moral Superiors) have decided that normal, 9 to 5 Australian taxpayers are Racist. What we really think about aimlessly throwing buckets of money at Committees, Councils and Collectives with the purported aim of "closing the gap"

The "gap" can be closed. We have two examples immediately to hand. The blog owner is a normal, 9-5 Australian taxpayer. Same as you & me. He has taken advantage (as we do) of the society that promotes value for effort. Adam Goodes is a multi-millionaire. Because he's good at playing a game that normal, 9-5 Australian taxpayers like watching.

Adam has been surfing the wave of victimhood. His barrackers are legion. He serves their purpose. He is being used by them. He has the choice of surfing this wave to the shore and endorsement for a perhaps winnable seat for the ALP, or to bail, admit that he over-reacted, that the current furore does NOT have his support. Accept the teenagers apology and get on with his career and life.

brilliantly written , you are a master wordsmith,,,,, sadly goodes is part of a sad generation, the ones who've been fed ''''victim mentality'''', theres no denying he'd have copped shit in his life, its a sad part the human viruses mentality and a even more sad side of the thug hero game of football he chooses to be involved in , the same game they has lack luster values towards females . even the , fat, ugly, pimply , ethnic etc etc etc kid copped a verbal beating , its not right but its a part of our sad human mentality . goodes is a disgrace to his people and this country and the worst divisive person for a long time. the career victim crap needs to stop , it embarrasses the proud aboriginals to no end, you can't take all and demand more , hang your head goodes, you have disgraced your heritage !!!!!!!!!!!!

If Australia wasnt inclined to behave racially superior the simple truth about our racist society wouldnt be so hard to face, i know things move alittle slower in more remote areas but east coast Aboriginal people have been on the front line of social darwinism and genocide since invasion, the people who have faced racial prejudice for centuries have the clearest understanding of how racism truly works

A country cannot be 'invaded' unless there is an opposing nation that fights to repel the incursion. This country was colonized as there was no defined 'nation'. There was no invasion, and if you read the ships logs of the First Fleet you will note that the original inhabitants of Sydney Harbour turned their backs to the ships as they sailed in. That can hardly be termed an invasion!

Every branch of Man has its racists not just the white man! Maybe you could begin to unravel the current insanity concerning 'racism' by understanding the history of Man, his warts and all!

Trader Pine, get your history right. Perhaps you could start by acquainting yourself with the fact that our original inhabitants were given the right to vote in the 1961 Referendum. That referendum was never about recognition as a race that seems to be the Left wing collective's mantra for their race baiting agenda, and up until that time, Aborigines were under government protection.

It was your die hard bigoted white Australian that said yes to Aborigines having the right to vote in 1961, not the government of the day!

And as for the so called Cronulla Riot. That was a reaction by the local Australian youth against the many incidents over many years, and I know of at least one murder, committed by Lebanese Muslims who were subjecting beachgoers, especially women, to much unwanted attention and to which the authorities turned a collective blind eye until the Lebs went too far one day by putting two Life guards in hospital.

But of course you don't mention that the so called riot was a tame affair compared to the next three nights of Lebanese Muslim men harassing, intimidating, maliciously damaging private property and assaulting any 'skip' they could get their hands on around Maroubra and adjoining suburbs while the Labor state government ordered police to turn a blind eye to their jihad.

And then to rub salt into the wounds of those young Australian males who had dared to stand up against the status quo that the authorities still have in place, they were all labelled as racists and subjected to much vilification in the media while the real racists and their abetters escaped unchallenged to this day!

So by all means put your comment up, but please make sure of your facts if you are going to present/distort, our recent history.

There are 23 million people live on this continent and you drag up the actions of a handful of people so you that can label the majority of us as something you have come to believe about us without any real evidence as to your own convictions!

Thank you for sharing your wisdom, it's refreshing to read such honesty in an Australia continuously beseeched by an army of media sheep bleating the same racist derision at any given inane opportunity.

Thank you. I was feeling uncomfortable with what is being shoved down our throats by 'do-gooder' media types presuming to tell us what to think and feel, but also feeling that if I voiced a different opinion I would be labelled and howled down.

What an absolute bloody pleasure that was to read. Felt like i've been banging my head against a wall about this Adam Goodes fiasco and your words just helped so much to bring some clarity. Thanks mate, look forward to reading future blogs of yours.

This was a brilliant piece that was, as others have said, a joy to read.

I would genuinely like to hear your thoughts about the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. If such an article has already been produced by you in this blog, then please forgive an aging keyboard commando, and kindly point me to it.

Your words are a breath of fresh air, and I look forward to seeing more of your work

I responded to an article by the Guardian Australia on facebook last night. It was about the comments made by Stan Grant earlier on in the day. I commented on the numbers of people coming out of the woodwork supporting Adam Goodes against racism. I questioned whether these people were actually being honest with themselves about their tolerance and non-racism. I asked them to ask themselves whether they had a "black" friend or they just had friends... some of whom might be black, some might be yellow, some might be gay... because if they had a "black" friend, then they were really closet racists who had a token black as a friend to make themselves appear less racist than they really were. To use their "token" black or italian friend as a badge of honour to make themselves appear less of a racist.

The biggest issue these politically correct people have is that they use their politically correctness to paper over the flaws in their own character.

So incredibly well written Dallas...I know that you "hate the fact that all of a sudden your opinion is relevant" but you truly do have a literary gift and it is genuinely great to read your words of wisdom again.....As a school teacher where relevant or when approached by or initiated/asked by students this week I have listened attentively and objectively to and as such tried to stimulate positive discussion with them amidst the whirlwind of public and journalistic "division".... out of the mayer of opinions whether by public majority they have been deemed good, bad, indifferent, vitriolic, short-sighted, narrow-minded,racist etc, I thought I had found a valid "starting point" for open, honest and respectful discussion and debate when I heard dare I say it, a genuinely well respected, articulate and measured journo earlier this week ask his viewers/followers to think about and "contructively" question as to why, whether through what has either been empowered by what has happened to him, or by what we have emotionally attached to him and what he represents, Adam Goodes to be a person that seemingly now stands in a unique and somewhat "rarified" place where he can never be by anyone in any way questioned, doubted, critisised or called out on any in-accuracy...without fear of being labelled or branded yourself as a X,Y or Z........

Thankyou.

My students will definitly be encouraged to read your words/blog, not so much as to validate their own or by extension my own views and opinions on the topic, but moreso hopefully for them in their own time and right to be able to make some "ah ha" sense and bridge the gap though "all" that has collectively been said and done so far on all fronts in order to hopefully help them find a balanced, mature and respectful perspective themselves that they without hesitancy or fear are willing to share.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. As an alabaster skinned city dweller who considers herself to be caring, informed and sensitive, I found it uncomfortable on my first read. After considering it again (and again!), I realise this was because of my own ignorance and assumptions about what is 'right'. I appreciate you sharing your own thoughts, feelings and perspectives on this issue. I have certainly learned from them.

Unlike a lot of people who have posted here I have experienced racism. I didn't like it at all. In the early 70s in London there was a lot of racism from landlords. My girlfriend, at the time, was Jamaican and she needed a place to live for herself. We gave up going together to look at places. Over the phone they were available, and conversation would be all warm and fuzzy, but upon meeting agents for an inspection, the tune invariably changed. No longer "Hail fellows, well met," more 'cold and cursory' was the order of the day. I finally secured a bed sit for her and two KIwi friends. When the three of them turned up, the landlady, who was Jewish by the way, was aghast and wanted to throw my girlfriend out immediately. You have no idea how humiliating this was for my girlfriend to have this woman say: "I'll give you a fortnight and then I'll decide." She had to suck that up because she was desperate to find somewhere to live.The other occasions I wish to mention occurred when I was in India in 2008. On two occasions, out in the back blocks, I had complete strangers come up to me, demand to know what I was doing in their country and then tell me to 'get back to where I came from' "India was for Indians.' and so on. It only happened twice but it was unsettling and it put me on my guard.Adam Goodes didn't know the girl was 13, didn't demand she be removed from her seat and thus separated from her grandmother, (And BTW didn't the grandmother think that she should be with her grand daughter? Or, sorry forgot, She was a Collingwood supporter, she wouldn't have wanted to miss out on any of the game) Furthermore, if I recollect correctly, Adam Goodes expressed his sorrow that a child should use such offensive language and blamed it on her environment, not on the child.I just think it's cowardly mob behaviour to boo Adam Goodes every time he goes near the ball and if he is driven from the game it will be a victory for the empty vessels over those who've got more substance to their beings.

A little more research into the actual happening with the girl at the football would have told you that the grandmother was not allowed to go with her and was forced to stay in her seat long after the game was over. As well, the security people overstepped their mandate by separating a juvenile from her guardian - even criminals aren't subjected to that.

The fact that Adam Goodes pointed her out to the security people shows that he knew that she was a young person. She apologized for the name calling, stating that she didn't know it was " racist". Instead of leaving it there Adam Goodes went on television the next day and called her the face of racism. I wonder if he has ever contacted this child to see what repercussions it has had on her life to be so publicly named and shamed.

Adam Goodes is both victim of the elite and villain of the oppressed here. There is no English precedent.

This will become the prime example in the argument that politics has no place in sports (or entertainment). We now have a brilliant athlete hovering, quivering between AFL immortality and political oblivion. And it shouldn't have come to this.

Fine for you to be upset by Goodes' conduct, but in saying he shouldn't speak for those on the bottom rungs you position yourself as able to speak for that very group. I thought you weren't homogenous? Speak for yourself alone if you demand that others should.

And, because he's rich and successful, he should just turn away as if nothing happened when called an ape? He can only be offended if he is on the bottom rungs? The battle is already won?????Haven't been to an Alice Springs town camp lately I guess. Ridiculous.

Mate, another beautifully written piece. You're opinion may not be relevant to the media, but it is to a lot of us.

You know though, I think you have a serious problem with this ancient blogspot technology you are using to communicate. You really need to get a facebook page going. I really wanted to share this article with my friends, but I can't really. It is only by a small miracle that I even know this blog exists at all.

Now I know you oldies don't like change, but hear me out. If you start a facebook page you can post links to this blog or links to anything else in the media and add your comments. People can like it and comment and tag their friends and share your articles.

The things you said in this article really echo what a lot of Australian's are thinking and no one is saying it quite as succinctly as you. Even the right wing media are saying hilarious stupid things like "the crowd is booing cause they feel threatened by his imaginary spear". I feel like Australia is waiting for someone like you who is actually in touch with the real country and can write things that are not completely moronic.

Actually, your writings reminds me a bit of Clive James, not just insightful and interesting, but also personal and heart fealt. And, like Clive James, I think they have a lot to offer everyone, not just those who agree with you. I read the papers and watch the news all the time, and like I said, if it wasn't for some miracle during some very random googeling misadventure, I would never have known who you are, or that this was here. I really think your writings have a lot to more to offer Australia than they currently do, lying here in this obscure corner of the web.

I know you hate that people may now be more interested in your opinion cause you're the token black guy; I don't blame you! But one gets few advantages in life and you have to use what you've got to get a leg up if you ask me. Now may be the time.

And if you're not into that sort of thing, then how about you just do it for me, your small fan who only wants the simple pleasure of hitting the like button and tagging a few of his friends.

Great Piece and well written, saying a version of this long story which is not well discussed. Very happy that you associate the left with Narcissism. This is also discussed by Anne Manne in the Life of I and Rebecca Knuth in Libricide, Narcissism is not confined to the right wing, as many lefts would like to believe. Take Communism and Pol Pot as two well known examples and there are many others.

I also think it is important to acknowledge that mainly the right wing media machine has made this into a scapegoating left elite mechanism, by playing up and focusing on the negative term 'racism'. This key marketing exercise has created an easy way to divide our community, creating less attachment and caring for each other. Effectively, by creating less attachment to each other it achieves a narcissistic lack of empathy and enables a 'superior' postion to be taken, with I am 'correct' and you are 'wrong'. This is all just 'noise' and creates a poor debate, with only winners and loosers and no learners.In my opinion, we need to move on and accept that the noise and the division makes the discussion of 'whether it is racist or not' actually less irrelevant. There will always be excuses, for someone calling another person an 'ape' in public.So moving on, all booing and discussion of it being racist or not needs to tone down and to do this Fionn Griffin is suggesting that we *drown out their “noise” with our applause.'.Such gentle methods have my support.

Thankyou for your writings. They have a humour and wit that keeps us laughing while giving an education on your thoughts and experiences that I treasure. With such erudite talent why are you not in charge of your own column sharing your satire each Saturday? I might start buying papers again !

Accepting the balance of individual experience and personal histories sways the pendulum of critical thought, for the moment I swing towards:- we need to be critical of the way we socialise our young people & that there are significant flaws in what we expose them to and deliberately teach them;- (reintegrative) shaming has been an effective tool for reconnecting, teaching, learning and behaviour change in traditional and modern societies;- racism can/may be detected from physical facial expressions. When something disgusts you, when something is 'off'. It can also occur when food/drink/relationships go 'sour'. It is the affect called "dissmell" and is thought to be biological; - opinions cannot change moral truths - it is impolite to use/point out physical attributes unless you have a mutual trusting relationships and even then within shared experience and understanding of intent;- I fundamentally disagree that there is a "racism industry" or that such a statement should be tied to "reconciliation" (Bolt ABC 7.30 Report); and,- when people are hurting and can articulate their needs as to cause of their pain, what steps could be taken to alleviate the suffering, I want to approach the issue with "a good heart" (Tiwi elder 2014, not specific to this conversation).

My goodness, you are truly a breath of fresh air and a man who can really be respected for his beliefs and traditions. I have served in the Army and Police with so many Aboriginals and they have all been truly decent, funny and genuine blokes and some I still call friends. After all the bullshit that has been volleyed around over the past week, you have restored my faith which had started to wane severely because of this. Thank you. p.s. I love the way you write and now look forward to seeing more from you.

I've lost track of the amount of times I've heard or read this week that those calling out racism are the racists? It's mind blowing how people attempting to deflect like this can produce a rational thought in their brain.

What an unpleasant, and condescending post. Perhaps insults go with your territory. We all knew who Dallas was referring to but you just couldn't resist picking him up on it. Did it make you feel as if you're a superior being?

What an unpleasant, and condescending post. Perhaps insults go with your territory. We all knew who Dallas was referring to but you just couldn't resist picking him up on it. Did it make you feel as if you're a superior being?

You are a wise man and epitomize the maturity I have known in my youth of aboriginal men whom I worked with on the land. I like others would truly appreciate your thinking on many other issues facing our great land, especially the insidious moves to use race as a means of causing division, and a means of achieving political agendas.

Hi Dallas. Just want to say a big thank you for your insightful article. Goodes could have handled the whole incident with the young girl in a far more positive way, perhaps meeting with her family after the game to discuss the issue with them. I have no respect for Adam Goodes at all, however perhaps it's time excessive booing at him should settle for a while. I am sincerely concerned for his mental health.The media and AFL should be ashamed of the themselves for blowing it all out of proportion. The AFL have painted themselves into a PC corner and instead of letting it fizzle out, they continue pouring fuelonto the fire. Considering banning booing now? They are really in a pickle of their own making. I'm glad I hate footy.Good to hear that you'll be on Bolt report tomorrow. I'm sure you will enlighten many with your input, and will have many supporters. You will also, no doubt have some that will respond with venom. You seem to be a man of integrity and honour, stay strong and true to your word. We need your voice to be heard.Many of us would like to hear more from you on a variety of topics. Thanks again.

I think you're being unfair to Goodes Sheila. I agree what he did was quite shocking at the time, but he obviously snapped, as you may very well have done had you been in the the same position. This was probably a sign that his mental health was frail back then, so given that you are concerned about his mental health, perhaps you need to understand his actions rather than condemn them. As for trying to handle the situation more 'positively' - what is positive about racism? People - including you - conveniently forget that he DID make contact with the girl and her family and was quite concerned about her well being afterwards. I encourage you to take some time and read up on what AG did after the game and in the ensuing days, then you may not disrespect him so much.

You assume the girl meant it as a racist comment. I believe her when she said she didn't mean it as such. Also, after Adam had time to consider the incident, he went on to name her as the face of racism.

Eloquent and inciteful. Thanks Dallas. You have provided a voice for an opinion I hold but have been unsuccessful in expressing. I hope to read more of your opinion on the world around you in the future.

I'm so glad that unlike Adam Goodes, I will never be expected to be grateful for being permitted to drink water from a particular tap!As for the person who said he shouldn't have "decided for every indigenous person that the ape reference was offensive", he was just speaking up for those who DO find it a racist slur and who recognise that it has been used against black people as a way to suggest they are less evolved humans. When my (black) partner was walking our 4year old son home from kinder and a car pulled alongside them, the occupants followed them along the street making monkey noises at them. That is racist and offensive and I am glad Adam Goodes stood up against it so hopefull my kids won't have to. When I lived overseas, I used to defend Australia and was definite that there is no racism here. The only reason I could no that is because I hadn't seen it. I can't say that anymore.

I haven't heard anyone say Adam should be grateful for drinking water from a particular tap. What an absurd statement. There will always be some racists among us, but I do not believe they are the majority in Australia.Another point I'd like to make is that as children we often teased each other by calling names, including big, hairy ape or monkey and it had nothing to do with race. I'm sorry you've experienced true racism, but don't suggest that all of Adam's problems stem from his aboriginal heritage.

If Adam has been discriminated in the past, eg which tap he can drink from based on his race, that is shameful. We are talking about the present now and should not assume racism as the first cause of name calling and booing.We cannot all walk around on eggshells frightened of offending all and sundry.

The tap comment was a reference to the above blog- " When he is thirsty, he doesn’t have to take a drink at the appropriately labelled drinking fountain". Sorry that wasn't clear!No, I would not condemn the whole country for the actions of a few, what I said was "I can't say there is not racism here".

I have found in life that there are not many views which can be definitively defined as completely right or completely wrong. Thank you for allowing it to be countenanced that there can be alternative ways to assess the current situation, and for opening up an intelligent platform for the exploration and discussion of those alternatives - something main stream media refuses to do

Dallas please take care , someone once said "a conversation is an unrehearsed intellectual adventure" Those whom you are about to engage wish you ill will. Take Andrews guidance and don't allow the "elite"to tarnish your soul with hatred. Adam also has the right to feel as he does , rightly or wrongly, and it is arrogant of anyone to simply say he is wrong. We must put our possition without personel vitriol and with the greater good in mind, not to merely win a debate at all costs. Take care out there !!

You make some interesting points about the mainstream media having its own interests in all this, highlights cultural context around the "war dance" and discusses some attitudes and biases of the "enlightened".

However you fail to address the saga in its entirety. It's great you discussed the dance and your personal views and feelings on this, something the media or masses have not really explored, and one significant event in all this, but you have failed to look at the series of events and entire context of what has led to now, which would in turn give wider context to the booing situation.

There have been some highly racist attitudes coming out if you look at some of the comment sections of the media articles. I do not use the word flippantly or conveniently. I am talking about people blaming Goodes as being out of line, "racist" apparently, and to blame for the six weeks of incessant booing because he directed security staff to a 13 year old girl calling out racist insults to him in 2013.

There are also those that say the booing is because he is not a very good player or is a bad sportsman. If those things are true, the incidences of booing would have corresponded with those events rather than been a continuous crescendo every time he has had the ball since the "war dance".

And although I hear your criticisms of the dance itself, I don't know that it can be said that the "booers" had importance and sacredness of context of aboriginal culture in mind when they were booing.

I could go on forever, but I'm torn between not wanting to continue the saga on by talking more, and wanting to clarify myself to those who may misunderstand me.

You will get no argument from me that we have yet to stamp out racism in this country.There are some ugly attitudes that still exist, but in my 42 years of life I have seen things get a lot better for people like me. Not perfect, but would I go back to the 80's as a parent and put my kids through what I went through? Hell no. They are able to take for granted the education they get, the very first in my entire family. I was educated, but told every day how lucky I was - and not only told, I saw for myself. Geography meant that my cousins got less than I did, were treated worse than I was, and had fewer people telling them they could be or do anything with their lives.

I come at the 13 year old girl story from a fathers point of view. More important than my blog, or being involved in 'issues' is being there for my kids and guiding them to adulthood. I am around kids, ages 6-16 every single day of all colours and ethnicities, and even the nicest, kindest, caring kid can say the stupidest things at times. They deserve education and forgiveness for saying the wrong thing, not to be made public spectacles of. That said, her mother needs to stop demanding an apology in the media, it was her daughter who needed to apologise - which she did. That should have been the end of it.

The thing with the 'booers', is that there was so many of them, that I would not want to tar them all with any one brush. They can't all be racists, though statistically you can't deny that among that number of people there would be a few. Perhaps instead of the media asking commentators and bloggers like myself to label an entire group of people, they could go down and interview the actual crowds. With all the technology they have, it wouldn't be hard to find some of these 'booers', and ask them.

If they asked one of my closest mates, he'd say he's just a rebel and because he was told not to say 'boo', he came down just to stick it up someone. He has no idea who Adam Goodes is, but he'll be damned if anyone will tell him he can't boo at the footy. Not logical, but not at all racist. Sport isn't where we look to for great insight and intellect. It's where raw passion and emotion seem to live.

I think AFL supporters don't want to see their entertainment mixed with politics. Whether that is good or bad I don't know.

As a parent I agree with your views regarding the 13 year old girl. But I don't think that Adam taking offense at being called an ape was on behalf of all indigenous people, in THAT moment. There is no doubt that he, personally, finds the term racist, and he shouldn't be criticised for calling it out. The problem was he asked for the girl to be removed from her seat, and then security underscored the humiliation by telling the grand-mother that she could not go with her grand-daughter. Urgh. That was never going to go down well for Goodes, despite standing up the next day and saying that the girl was not to blame. What's done is done. When people learn the girls age, it triggers a protective reaction, particularly for those that are parents. It's hard to fight against that. I think if Adam had that moment again he would have handled it differently.

And yes, not all booers are racist, but now the booing of Adam Goodes has become a political powder keg that is tied to racism whether we like it or not. Do we really want to see if its going to explode?

This social media melt-down has influenced my news consumption. The controversy surrounding the booing led directly to my reading an article in New Matilda regarding Jack Sultan Page. Again, my feelings as a parent were triggered. I felt despair for the parents. To have lost your child in a hit and run and then go to court to be reprimanded by the judge. To be told to shut-up that this isn't a pub and to see the offender get home detention and a small fine is sickening. So now I am looking for somewhere where I can add my voice to say how wrong this is.

On a final, lighter note, I'm happy to have discovered your blog. And it happened purely because of Adam Goodes. So I am grateful to him for that. He might be wealthy, and because of that we know he doesn't suffer the burden of racism like other indigenous people do. But he is on a platform. We listen to him. You should use that. The media certainly does.

For a considerable time, the booing of Goodes was at a level that was no greater than for other unpopular players, all of whom have tolerated it - it only accelerated to the present unacceptable level once Goodes labelled it as racist, and no acknowledgement was given to the possibility that for many people this was not the motivation. This confirmed the perception that many people have of Goodes - that he expects to be treated differently from other players, so displeasure increased, as did the booing. This, combined with a feeling of misrepresentation, and the natural human tendency to rail against being told what they cannot do, has seen it get out of control. Whilst it has now also become a platform for people to express racist views, which are immediately highlighted to add weight to the racist argument, those people who are not racially motivated are immediately howled down if they attempt to challenge that single interpretation

I am not educated nor am I elitist but every man and his dog who goes to the footy knows that the boos aimed at Adam Goodes are all about race. The average footy moron found somewhere to be racist without actually being racist, now they've been called out but 12 months too late.

You think you may just be dancing and smiling for whitefellas again with what is here, really just a personal rant against Adam Goodes? Except these whitefellas REALLY don't give a damn about Aboriginal people in Australia today. But, I'm sure your “nice, positive and educated” words just make them feel all so “relaxed and comfortable” and help them keep their heads in the sand!

Not sure if you give a damn either, as you seem to have more connection to the past than the living present reality of Aboriginal people in Australia. Indeed as one poster here has asked, have you at least discussed the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Australian Constitution ? Or do you prefer to just talk about The Simpsons and smile at the whitefellas ?

I give a damn about ALL Australians and Australia. Are you an Australian?I am also offended by your use of 'whitefellas' as it is a racist term. I do not call anyone a 'blackfella' and I doubt you would accept me calling you one.

I'm sorry if irony is not a strong point in your "care for all Australians" facade. Refuges, scoundrels and all that hooha that unfortunately is relevant here in reply to your "pompous compassion for all" that sounds so convincing to anyone with a head and heart.

I actually contributed a piece on Recognition for a book. You do realise there is a strong 'Anti-Recognise' movement led by many varied members of the community - both sides of political leanings and backgrounds. As a non-supporter of the current proposition, I will give it exactly the amount of airtime it deserves in here - none. But if feel-good do nothing gestures are what interests you, perhaps visit a blog more aligned to your tastes.

“I will state flatly that the bulk of this country’s white population impresses me, and has so impressed me for a very long time, as being beyond any conceivable hope of moral rehabilitation. They have been white, if I may so put it, too long. They have been married to the lie of white supremacy too long. The effect in their personalities, their lives, their very grasp of realty, has been as devastating as the lava which so memorably immobilized the citizens of Pompeii. They are unable to conceive that their version of reality, which they want me to accept, is an insult to my history, a parody of theirs and an intolerable violation of myself.”

Well said 'citizen'. As an Aboriginal woman I found the article to be not only divisive but hurtful. It saddens me that tall poppy syndrome is rife within our communities especially when comments highlighting mixed heritage and being rich and therefore having no understanding of struggles basically give a platform and excuse for people to justify their own arguments that the booing was not racist. I liken it to the views of Andrew Bolt in his attack on what he calls White Aboriginals with suspect links to Aboriginal ancestry which he was found guilty of vilification under sect 18c. The aspersions made in the article were totally incorrect (just like Andrew Bolt tends to do). Adam's mother was a member of the stolen generation and her life experience as a result was horrific to the point where she cant talk about it. Adam does though. I find it especially hurtful that he is saying that those of us (which are all of us incidentally) of mixed heritage have no right to create, use or be appointed as a warrior as that is a title that has to be earned. In my view Adam has well and truly earned it.

I can tell you that rather than tall poppy syndrome being rife in Aboriginal communities, there is often blind worship of the famous, based on nothing more than racial identity.

The reality is, that some Aboriginal people are doing very well. They are doctors, lawyers and engineers. They are earning above average wages, and live lives virtually indistinguishable from their non-Aboriginal neighbours. They face little racism, due to the fact that their features and skin do not resemble that of a 'stereotypical Aboriginal', and often do not participate in traditional ceremonies or follow cultural practices, nor live on a mission, outstation or in a town camp where services are restricted and attitudes far less welcoming and understanding.

I understand you may not be aware of the fact that as a woman, you are not allowed to speak of mens business, and if you wish to be culturally sensitive, I would ask you to remove your references to warriors, as women can never be appointed this in a traditional sense, nor ever make decisions regarding the men who are. I come from a bloodline of Warriors, but I am not one myself, and it wouldn't matter if I saved 100 elderly people in a nursing home blaze, or wrote a blog post that brought an end to racism, nothing I do out in this urban world means a thing in traditional Aboriginal culture. I have my Elders, who watch what I say and whose advice I must take and respect, but until I go back 'home', and put in to change the lives of those who need it most, I have earnt no such title nor would I demand, expect or create it.

I want people of mixed heritage to embrace their Aboriginal ancestry. The more the merrier with regard to being part of a big family of all colours. What I have a problem with, and what you'll find no secret if you go to many homelands, is that urban folks like you and I are doing a lot better than our poorest cousins, who seem to be not only Australia's shameful secret, but ours too. It earns us no respect with them to continue to pretend that being Aboriginal means something different to your or I than it does to them. Distant heritage and an urban location is a good way to know if your days of such suffering are past you, or the future you are resigned to unless things change.

Here’s the thing. When we talk about race relations in Australia or racial progress, it’s all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they’re not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserved what happened to them before.

....I reckon many people are now booing as if to say ‘‘who are you to tell me I’m racist?’’. Because in Australia it’s worse to tell an indignant white person they are being racist, than it is to call an indigenous man an ape. And there’s a great Australian paying a terrible price price for his honesty.

I read Black Steam Train .Not really sure why I am so drawn to it as it is full of commonsense which should be ..and certainly in my youth was..regarded as a sign of normalcy.In fact if a person lacked commonsense he was regarded as a " bit of a ratbag".I lived and worked in officially designated remote areas and we were truly blessed in an era prior to the "idiot box", but I would get quite ratty if I was denied my newspaper. Newspapers were last on the flights that serviced these communities as the priority was rightly given to passengers and perishable cargo.Newspapers then were such a bloody good read and an essential part of everybody's weekend which in my case included a shady bit of lawn, a squatter's chair and a cold beer..ok, several.Maybe that is why I like reading BST...Dallas reminds me of normal life.But I was disappointed to see him on Andrew Bolt, because these formats pose questions that require instant response.Good writers never..never..go straight to print.Draft after draft sails into the wastebasket until the writer is satisfied with the end result.This obviously is impossible on a time restricted TV show and benefits only the TV show and host IMHO.

I found myself nodding along with your words. These issues often require such delicate language, and toning down of the emotion and passion that goes with it all. Sometimes I am in tears when I write this blog, for I can't ever forget the things I have seen and have shaped the man I've become, but I am just an ordinary bloke. Writing was something I was never all that good at when I was at school, I preferred to talk to people than put words down on paper, but after having kids and my brother dying, I started wanting to write down things about my life, so that if I went young too, they would know who their father was, and what my life had been all about.Sometimes I will sit at the screen and just ponder a sentence for fifteen minutes. Sometimes I will rewrite it five times before it comes out exactly how I want it to. But I didn't want to turn Bolt down again (he has asked me a few times to come on), because even though I might not have come across as polished and professional, I actually wanted to go and shake the blokes hand and thank him in person. For all the times he gets called 'racist', he has been a terrific supporter of mine and I know him now to be anything but what he is made out to be elsewhere. If only the cameras could have captured how kind and welcoming his staff and everyone was to me, and our private chat before and after the taping that was relaxed and far more interesting than giving more airtime to the Goodes saga, but there was some profanity involved, so I guess with the beeps it probably wouldn't have been superb TV.

I have as much respect for Bolt as you do Dallas, but most importantly, I'd love to shake YOUR hand and extend to you the huge amount of respect I have for you for putting yourself out there. I can imagine it wouldn't be easy.

I thought you were great on his show, you came across as a genuine, honest person wanting to inject some (sorely missed) common sense back into the argument.

I am not a Dedicated Bolt fan nor a Goodes fan for that matter but I have became a Black Steam Train fan. I did watch your interview on the Bolt Report, I did enjoy it but will say I think you are a better writer than a speaker. I enjoyed your purse clutching analogy. Some people though seem to leave out intent in their comments, whether the young girl intended her "ape" comment to be racist on not, I do not know, so I will take her word for that, as I must take Goodes word that he perceived that way. As a whitefella (I do not consider it racist if I am called that) I have been called an ape before, I put that down to fact that maybe they thought I was ugly, they are entitled to their opinion on that score, and I guess I am not the most handsome man I know. Maybe Goodes thought that he was so good looking that the "ape" remark had to be racist, that would just make him Narcisstic would'nt it, just saying. As the politicians keep saying, it is all about perception I suppose.

Australia was a very racist country under the "White Australia Policy" it is hard to argue otherwise. In my lifetime I have seen a dramatic change in how Australia treats those that are different and I am pleased to say the progress is good. Sure we are by no means perfect but who is and the fact remains Australia has become one of the most multicultural countries on the planet.

I think the approach of aggressively calling the people of Australia who have overseen and implemented this change as racists is unwise. The law of unintended cosequences could unwind a lot of the well made prorgress.

Robert, there was a very good reason for having a white Australia policy. Maybe you could look that up as part of Australian history? And if you bother to do that, then you might look up what the word Nation means, because under multiculturalism we have gradually lost our Australian identity and have become a country of cultural tribes, tribes that have no attachment to this country whatsoever, but to their own cultures.

Diversity through multiculturalism is a recipe for disaster, and if you can find the time to see what is now going on in Europe, Britain and North America that multiculturalism has brought to those countries, then you may be able to appreciate what is happening to our own country.

Good appearance on The Bolt Report. You had me up until the "purse clenching is racist" bit. I'm willing to bet a seedy, thuggy looking white guy is more likely to elicit this response than a well dressed black man. Self preservation is not racist. Firstly, most muggings are by men, so it would never be wrong for a woman to be alert and protect herself around strange men if there aren't plenty of people around. Secondly, of those muggings, black people do commit a higher percentage of them. Rapes and murders too. Heck, it's not even just women - smaller males tend to be targeted too. If a woman crosses the street or puts her purse closer to her person, it inconveniences the law abiding man none and maybe gives the woman some sense of security. It might also deter the opportunist criminal. Now, I despise feminists and realise I'm probably sounding like one here, but again, there's nothing wrong with being alert and protective about one's safety. This isn't the same as pointing your finger and screaming "rapist!" because a guy had the temerity to look at you.

Anecdote - I had a discman stolen by an aboriginal essentially in public when I was in my teens. I was walking home on a busy main street listening to it, and an aboriginal guy by the side of the street said "man, give us a look at that brother" or something very similar. I didn't want to, obviously, but I stopped for a moment and showed him. Quick as a flash he yanked it out of my hands. He didn't even run at this point, but said "thanks man". He was surrounded by several of his friends, also aboriginal. I figured if they were willing to do that, they might be willing to do worse, so walked away lesson learned. If the discman wasn't a skipping, old POS that I had got for free anyway, I probably would have gone to the police, but you have to admit that was brazen. And it's not the only experience I've ever had like that. If I'd just snubbed the guy and kept walking, would that be racist?

You know, I don't point at people who clutch their purse, or cross the street and yell 'racist', but I am guilty of wondering if my skin was white, and I looked like a dentist or doctor instead of a guy who might burgle your house in the middle of the night (I've often had people think I might know someone who could kill an ex-husband or break the legs of someone who did them wrong), if their reactions would be different and I would just pass by totally invisible to them, but I agree with your overall sentiment of self-preservation. We're all human and it's an instinct not exclusive to a colour of skin but shared biology we all have. I suppose it would have been helpful to admit to my own prejudice, that I assume first it is racism, rather than what takes a little longer to admit - it may have nothing to do with the colour of my skin, but rather be a result of the society we live in. I'm forever telling my wife to be careful, and when we are out together, I stereotype all sorts of people into 'possible baddies'. Men who I would have no problem sitting down next to and striking up a conversation if I was out alone become the kind of guy I am glad my wife doesn't have to walk past alone. We had our own scare with a train station attack by a young weapon carrying teenage girl, so she was pretty afraid of everyone for awhile there, and I was angry at myself that she was alone when it happened.

I am sorry for the incident you had with your discman, though, I really hope you report it next time. Nobody should put up with being mugged like that, race excuses nothing and I hope you at least got a laugh thinking about him trying to play it for the first time and realising what a POS it was.

Thanks Dallas for taking the time to respond to comments on your blog and for sharing your experiences and viewpoints so openly and with great humour (loved the last para about the discman being a POS).

However, I have to agree with Darkfalz about that one comment from you on The Bolt Report that threw me a little too. But I also understand that things can come out the wrong way when in the limelight, and nervous, while also having a set time limit for expressing so much.

I have travelled around the world a lot, and have lived in various parts of Australia too, and there are many times I have felt the need to "clench my purse" just that little bit harder. But 99% of the time, that has occurred in situations that were specifically linked to 'deadbeats' and drug addicts and NEVER had anything to do with race.

In Berlin, Germany, white druggies congregating in the railway station made me very uncomfortable. In Lima, Peru, street hustlers and druggies of every colour were very threatening. Throughout Europe, there is a constant awareness of not being ripped off or robbed by people of all colours in all situations. In Leeds, England, I fled from a house because the white residents were sinister. Growing up in Adelaide in the 70's, you didn't walk down Rundle Street at night or go to the public toilets in Victoria Square because of the homeless, white, people. Where I live now in northern Queensland, there is a particular park I wouldn't walk through, day or night, because of gatherings of alcoholics who hurl ugly racist abuse at anyone for being white. And even in my own family, I have one adult son that I wouldn't trust near my purse or anything else of value.

I guess though, that you are entitled to make that 'purse clutching' comment - without needing to justify it - as we all have our own foibles and inexplicable self-doubts. This is the same self-doubt I experience when walking past males - despite having undergone plastic surgery and extensive dental work after growing up with a pointy nose and buck teeth. I still want to be able to walk past males without "hearing" them think "F*cking ugly" ... I am now in my fifties and still "hear" it in my head.

So I am very aware how seemingly superficial things can be linked to deep-seated insecurities. But feeling insecure about my looks isn't because I am white. The same with Adam Goodes. He probably thinks he is lacking in standardised 'good looks' and may well have been called an "ape" or similar growing up (as kids are mean and will pick on the most obvious thing about a person) and that particular insult may well be his Achilles' heel.

But it still isn't to do with his aboriginal heritage. Big hairy white males are called apes as well as an insult. Being called an 'ape' is not racist. It is an insult, but it isn't a racial slur.

Same as me being called 'witch-poo" or "bucky" had nothing to do with my heritage.

And that is the mistake that is being made by Adam Goodes - playing the race card - and why people will continue to boo him.

The same for the subsequent insult, 'Go back to the zoo'. That is not racist unless Adam Goodes has primates as immediate relatives, rather than having an evolution pathway that 100% of ALL humans of ALL colours share.

Bottom line is that insults aren't racist just because they touch a nerve - they actually have to indicate aspersions specifically related to race.

Yes, like you said, it's much more to do with how people are dressing and carrying themselves, if they are in a large group or whatever. There are lowlife thugs of every type out there. Many of them are opportunistic, so a dangling handbag on a deserted street could be just too good to pass up. Purse snatching is one of the more common types of robberies, after all. It's also true there are also some who are probably good kids but just enjoy dressing like hoodlums because that's the style or all they know. But I doubt they're going to be affronted or scarred for life if you avoid them or secure your valuables around them. I'm a large man and have sensed fear and apprehension say, in lifts alone with women. It's not up to me to decide whether it's irrational or not or whether it has to do with my gender, size, how I dress or ethnicity. I just mind my business and who knows, maybe sometimes these women feel foolish afterwards but I'm not going to judge them or feel slighted for them worrying about their personal security. If half of the population was 50% bigger and close to twice my strength, I'd probably be wary too.

Big hairy (even non hairy) white males tend to cop "Neanderthal" - a less developed human. "Troglodyte" is also common. I doubt ever has ever taken anything like the offence Goodes took. I've heard this used in casual conversation on talking heads shows, for example. I know the history is different, but ultimately we do come from apes, and some people are going to have facial or other features that remind people of that fact. Especially if they grow big scraggly beards. The Chinese have somewhat of a Monkey culture, where Monkeys/Apes and simian ancestry is kind of revered. I just doubt the 13 year old grasped the complexity of the situation. For me, you have sledging in sport (football) or you don't have it (tennis) - you don't restrict it to anything but racial or homophobic taunts.

It's all so clear now. Oh so your the guy, that dolt tried to use to make him look less racist. You don't speak for all “good, sensible” Aboriginal people do you? Of course, not! Had to get a blog post in before the show did we, expert? But I'm sure dolt would like people to think so of you.

If you rednecks out there can be bothered, in this article I think everyone of your moronic and fundamentally racist arguments are answered.

citizen? Of this country? or of something you would like to see come to fruition due to your fascist/socialist ideological persuasion? You label us as 'propagandist fuhrers' (I assume you mean Nazis?) and 'rednecks' yet you provide no substantive evidence for your slander. Nor do you even bother to refute anything that the person you denigrate as dolt (I assume is Andrew Bolt) has written or uttered.

You come across as being a typical Left wing collectivist in that you cannot see that there is no wit in ridicule or sarcasm when used to refute a comment, question or opinion, because ridicule or sarcasm as used is an obvious inability of the user to counter what has been uttered or written.

Oh, I see it's Waylon Smithers, now that I read the article again. Interesting choice as that character was initially introduced to the Simpsons as an African American. But then later he wasn't.

"The easiest way to get rid of them is to gauge their personal feelings, then just agree with them. If someone is genuinely looking for a discussion, they are easy to tell, but most people just want me to be the token black who validates their own feelings on the matter."

That was brilliant. It was brilliant because it was unfettered truth. For those of us whose knuckles are raw from biting them out of frustration over this whole falsely engineered "narrative", thanks for calling them on their bullshit. And doing it so humbly, insightfully, and articulately.

Let me start by saying l'm sorry. I'm 55yo so what I was tort in school and reality two different things. I love this country and think I'm free, however now a days I'm not so sure, I sit and wonder how the first Australians must feel. Reading some of these replys I can see it's still an uphill battle. I'd like to help both of us if I can,thank you for your time. Jono

There is so much love for the indigenous playersI am in awe of them My favourite is J Thurston The great QLD state of origin team recent win the crowd loves the indigenous players they are legendsWhy don't the media acknowledge the love

So very well said and such a delightful piece to read even though the topic may not be, saw you on the Bolt show yesterday, you're the educated one not all those other high minded people looking down on us ordinary folk, whatever colour we may be. We are all equal in God's sight.

I was watching the interview with Dallas and Andrew bolt when Dallas said if a woman is walking down the street and holds her purse closer if she sees aboriginals approaching i would think that had more to do with the high level of crime among aboriginal youth than being a race thing directly and the woman's response to this perception ,as far as Adam Goodes goes well i agree with Dallas some of it it is racist some is not depends upon the reason the individual is booing if evolution is correct we all descended from apes every race included and when i heard Adam Goodes referred to as king Kong i initially thought of it as meaning he was a giant of the game a strong man sort of thing it never relay occurred to me to think of it as a racial thing till it was blown up in the media and portrayed as such.Seems we are turning into sheep in Australia and have to go along with the crowd not allowed to think for ourselves without being labeled as racists ect.There is racism against aborigines by some white people and racism towards white people from some aborigines both should be stopped when it is true racism.I grew up in an aboriginal community so i have experienced it from both sides being of Irish English and in the far past 1860s Aboriginal decent i have also seen racism between different percentages of aboriginal people some not accepting others because one has more percentage of aboriginal than the other It can get rather complicated .

I wonder if an opposing cricket team from say India or Pakistan comes to Australia and is booed does that make us racists as well? and if the Australian team goes overseas to play cricket and gets booed does that make them racist too?

Hi Dallas. Congratulations on your piece on the Adam Goodes issue. It was measured and provided your readers and those who saw you on The Bolt Report with a refreshing view of racism which concerns us all at different levels. Batten down the hatches, mate, the urban dilettantes will now be massing to "re-program" you as you clearly haven't drunk the Kool-Aid of intellectual elite-think. Expect a visit from Marcia Langton, Waleed Aly et al. They cannot afford to let clear-thinking realists like you out of the Leftie pen. Be strong old mate.

I've bookmarked this piece because it is such thoughtful and reasonable writing about what is shaping up to be a very divisive referendum. I thought your appearance on Andrew Bolt yesterday was terrific and I hope many people saw it. The more diverse voices we hear the more we might join together as one people instead of the destructive them and us debate going on at the moment. Well done and I hope we see more of you in the public arena.

Your article though unintended only goes to show very clearly that racism is for many in the Australian watt of life a sport bigger than football. The 13 yr old, the spear throwing and the flashy sports car are just props for the argument. Try being an aboriginal 4 yr old out in a community at Bourke or an aboriginal teenager pulled over by the police…. and see that race differences are…like in America… revoltingly huge.. Interesting article but it revealed more than it smothered.

I have enjoyed reading this blog and the comments, but I feel the old "not from my mob" mentality is starting to creep in, the same mentality that attacks nice blokes and thinkers like Noel Pearson and Warren Mundine, and Dallas I regard you i in the same category as Noel and Warren in my books, and mate that is the best complement I can pay you are anyone for that matter. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for a well written blog and for your honesty and integrity. We are becoming a nation of followers driven by media hype - most of which is purely for financial or positional gain. It saddens me that this is the centre of our country's attention when there are so many more important issues that are not being taken care of. Perhaps it's time Australia's media broke the mould and unified the country over issues such as homelessness and educating the children, our future, about caring for others and kindness in general. And yes let Sport be the vehicle for change. Assertion not aggression, support not mockery and lastly kindness because we all want to be treated well.

all people are equal and it don't matter what colour shape size religion nationality gender type you are. i think most people think are like this and its the current government and certain media causing all this tension. its obviously for political reasons which is ashame because the people can see straight through it. it's time Australia's media broke the mould and unified the country over issues such as homelessness and educating the children, our future, about caring for others and kindness in general. these qualities are what andrew bolt has in spades and thats why he so respected by the people that count

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